Method for preparing metal from metal precursor solution and the application thereof

ABSTRACT

Method for preparing metal from metal precursor solution and the application thereof are provided. The metal precursor solution is treated by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and therefore transform into the metal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of Taiwan Patent Application No.103116166, filed on May 6, 2014, at the Taiwan Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in theirentirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to a method for preparing metal frommetal precursor solution and the application thereof, which usesatmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to convert the metal precursorliquid solution films into solid metal films or particles.

BACKGROUND

A solar cell is a device which is able to directly convert solar powerinto electrical power. Concept of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) isfirstly disclosed by Tsubomura et al. However, the disclosed DSSC haspoor photoelectric conversion efficiency so that it did not attractattention. Until 1991, the research team leading by Professor O'Reganand Professor Grätzel in Swiss Federal Institute of Technology used aporous titanium dioxide film adsorbing pigment molecule of rutheniumcomplex as a DSSC photoelectrode, where the photoelectric conversionefficiency of the DSSC was raised to 7.1% to 7.9%. According to a recentstudy, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSC is up to 13.1%.The DSSC has a sandwich-like configuration which is divided into severalsections, i.e. transparent conductive electrode, nanoporous titaniumdioxide, dye molecule of metal complex, electrolyte and counterelectrode. The working principles of DSSCs are directed to redox.Specifically, after the light is absorbed by the dyes, electrons aretransited from the ground states to the excited states of the dyes andthen are transferred to the titanium dioxide semiconductor. Through theconductive glass, the electrons are guided to an external circuit. Thenthe electrons flow to the counter electrode to reduce oxidized moleculesin electrolyte to complete a complete electron conduction circuit. Thecounter electrode plays an important role in DSSCs. Generally, awell-functional counter electrode must have high catalytic activity andgood electrical conductivity. At present, platinum is the most commonmaterial of counter electrode. The common techniques for fabricating theplatinum counter electrode are sputtering and liquid spin-coatingmethod. If the platinum counter electrode is fabricated by the liquidspin-coating method, long-time calcination (needing several hoursincluding temperature ramping and cooling durations) is required toremove organic compounds. However, the step of long-time calcination isenergy- and time-consuming.

The Taiwan Patent Application No. 097134931, entitled “Method andapparatus for thermally converting metallic precursor layers intosemiconductor layers, and also solar module”, discloses a method forthermally converting metallic precursor layers on substrates intosemiconducting layers, and an apparatus for carrying out the method andfor producing solar modules on substrates. The method and apparatus areachieved through that the substrates having a metallic precursor layerare heated in a furnace, which is segmented into a plurality oftemperature regions, at a pressure at approximately atmospheric ambientpressure in a plurality of steps in each case to a predeterminedtemperature up to the end temperature between a specific range and areconverted into semiconducting layers whilst maintaining the endtemperature in an atmosphere comprising a mixture of a carrier gas andvaporous chalcogens.

The Taiwan Patent Application No. 099103930, entitled “Process anddevice for the thermal conversion of metallic precursor layers intosemiconducting layers with chalcogen recovery”, discloses a process forthe thermal conversion of metallic precursor layers on flat substratesinto semiconducting layers with a recovery of chalcogen, as well as adevice for carrying out the process. The process and apparatus areachieved by heating substrates in a furnace at approximately atmosphericpressure to a final temperature in the range 400° C. to 600° C. andtransforming them into semiconducting layers in an atmosphere formedfrom a mixture of at least one carrier gas and chalcogen vapor.

The Taiwan Patent Application No. 102114224, entitled “Methods offabricating dielectric films from metal amidinate precursors”, disclosesmethods for atomic layer deposition of films comprising mixed metaloxides using metal amidinate precursors. The mixed metal oxide films maycomprise a lanthanide and a transition metal such as hafnium, zirconiumor titanium.

The U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/156,712, entitled “Solutionprocessed metal oxide thin film hole transport layers for highperformance organic solar cells”, discloses a method for the applicationof solution processed metal oxide hole transport layers (HTL) in organicphotovoltaic devices, where the metal oxide is derived from ametal-organic precursor enabling solution processing of an amorphous,p-type metal oxide, and the HTL layer exposes to oxygen plasma aftersolution depositing the HTL layer.

Employing experiments and researches full-heartily and persistently, theapplicant finally conceived the method for preparing metal from metalprecursor solution and the application thereof.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure discloses a method for preparing metal from metalprecursor solution and the application thereof. Specifically, the methodand application use an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to treatthe metal precursor solution to cause it to transform into the metal.

In another aspect, the present disclosure discloses a method formanufacturing an electrode, comprising steps of providing an insulatingsubstrate; providing a metal precursor solution containing a metalprecursor dissolved therein; causing the metal precursor solution todistribute on the insulating substrate; and treating the metal precursorsolution distributed on the insulating substrate by an atmosphericpressure plasma jet (APPJ) to cause the insulating substrate havingthereon the metal precursor solution treated by the APPJ to form theelectrode.

In another aspect, the present disclosure discloses a method formanufacturing an electrode, comprising steps of providing a substrate;providing a metal precursor solution containing a metal precursordissolved therein; causing the metal precursor solution to distribute onthe substrate; and treating the metal precursor solution distributed onthe substrate by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to cause thesubstrate having thereon the metal precursor solution treated by theAPPJ to form the electrode.

In another aspect, the present disclosure discloses a method formanufacturing a metal, comprising steps of providing a metal precursorsolution containing a metal precursor; and treating the metal precursorsolution by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to cause the metalprecursor to transform into the metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows voltage-current curves of DSSCs using a furnace-calcinedplatinum counter electrode and APPJ-treated platinum counter electrodes.

FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 2 c and 2 d show the 5,000× magnified scanning electronmicrographs of gold thin films fabricated by the APPJ treatment for 7,20, 60 seconds and by the furnace calcination for 15 minutes.

FIG. 3 shows the X-ray diffraction patterns of gold thin filmsfabricated by the APPJ treatment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure can be fully understood and accomplished by theskilled person according to the following embodiments. However, thepractice of present method is not limited to the following embodiments.

In an embodiment, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrically conductiveglass is used as a substrate. The substrate is rinsed by acetone for 15minutes and isopropyl alcohol for 15 minutes. Platinum precursorsolution, prepared by 10 mL of isopropyl alcohol containing 20 mg ofH₂PtCl₆ being a metal precursor and dissolved therein, is used asmaterial (where the central atom thereof is platinum) and coated on thecleaned substrate by spin coating, where the platinum precursor solutionmay form a liquid film on the substrate. The platinum precursor solutionon the substrate is then treated with the APPJ. From the moment that thesubstrate temperature reaches 360° C. caused by the jet heating, theplatinum precursor solution is further treated with the APPJ for variousduration, 20, 40, 60 or 120 seconds, to complete the preparations ofplatinum electrodes. In this embodiment, the operation parameters of theAPPJ are a nitrogen flow rate of 30 slm, operating voltage of 275V andduty cycle of 7/33 microsecond. When the substrate is exposed to theAPPJ, the substrate and the APPJ are 2 cm apart, and the opening of thequartz tube has a radius of 1.7 cm. After the APPJ treatment, thedissolved H₂PtCl₆ is transformed into platinum solid particles on thesubstrate and therefore cause the substrate to have catalytic activity.

A comparative embodiment that the FTO substrate covered thereon theplatinum precursor solution is made according to the procedure identicalto that of the above-mentioned APPJ-treated embodiment, but it does notundergo the APPJ treatment but rather is calcined by a conventionalfurnace (400° C., 15 minutes) to form a comparative platinum electrode.A total duration of the conventional furnace calcination process,including heating-up and cooling-down durations, is 3 hours.

Next, each of the comparative platinum electrode and the platinumelectrodes treated with various APPJ-treating duration is used to be acounter electrode and assembled with a dye-adsorbed TiO₂ photoanode,having a dense and a porous layers and treated by titaniumtetrachloride, to form a DSSC. The photoelectric characteristics,including open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current density(Jsc), fill factor (FF %) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η%),of the respective DSSCs are measured and shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Platinum counter V_(oc) J_(sc) FF η electrode in DSSC (V)(mA/cm²) (%) (%) furnace-calcined for 15 min 0.72 10.70 68.86 5.31APPJ-treated for 20 sec 0.71 11.26 62.17 4.97 APPJ-treated for 40 sec0.72 11.94 62.23 5.35 APPJ-treated for 60 sec 0.74 11.69 64.62 5.59APPJ-treated for 120 sec 0.70 11.93 54.72 4.57

As shown in Table 1, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the DSSCusing the platinum counter electrode treated by the APPJ for 40 secondsor 60 seconds is similar to that of the DSSC using the 15 minutefurnace-calcined platinum counter electrode. It can be seen that throughthe APPJ, an excellent platinum counter electrode can be fabricated in avery short time (no more than 1 minute, and even no more than 40seconds). In addition, when used in a DSSC, the APPJ-treated platinumcounter electrode provides similar photoelectric conversion efficiencyto that of the comparative platinum counter electrode.

The voltage-current curves of the DSSCs using the comparative and theAPPJ-treated platinum counter electrodes are shown in FIG. 1. Based onFIG. 1, it can be seen that the DSSCs using the comparative and theAPPJ-treated electrodes have similar electrical characteristics.However, the required fabrication time of the APPJ-treated electrode issignificantly reduced when compared with those of the comparativeelectrode.

In an embodiment, before the APPJ treatment, the substrate having thespin-coated platinum precursor solution thereon undergoes a short softbake at 75° C. for 1 min.

In another embodiment, gold precursor solution, prepared by 2 mL ofisopropyl alcohol containing 20 mg of HAuCl₄ being a metal precursor anddissolved therein, is used as material (where the central atom thereofis gold) and spin-coated on a clean normal (electrically insulating)glass substrate. From the moment that the substrate temperature reaches360° C. caused by the jet heating, the gold precursor solution on thesubstrate is then treated by the APPJ for 7, 20 or 60 seconds. When thegold precursor solution is treated by the APPJ, the highly reactivespecies (e.g. excited molecules and free radicals) and heat brought bythe APPJ will cause the gold precursor solution react so as to cause themetal precursor to transform into solid gold in thin film morphology onthe substrate. In this embodiment, the operation parameters of the APPJare nitrogen flow rate of 30 slm, operating voltage of 275V and dutycycle of 7/33 microseconds.

A comparative embodiment that the glass substrate covered thereon thegold precursor solution is made according to the procedure identical tothat of the above-mentioned APPJ-treated embodiment, but it does notundergo the APPJ treatment but rather is calcined by a conventionalfurnace (400° C., 15 minutes) to form a comparative gold thin film. Atotal duration of the conventional furnace calcination process,including heating up and cool down time, is 3 hours.

From the aspect of appearance, the APPJ-treated gold thin films arecontinuous and appear metallic luster, and the comparative thin film isdiscontinuous and scattered on the substrate.

Please refer to FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 2 c and 2 d which respectively show theimages of the gold thin films fabricated by the APPJ treatment for 7(FIG. 2 a), 20 (FIG. 2 b) and 60 (FIG. 2 c) seconds and the comparativegold thin film (FIG. 2 d) observed by the scanning electron microscopy(SEM) with 5,000× magnification. It can be seen that the gold thin films21, 22 and 23 shown in FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and 2 c are in the continuousmorphology, and the gold thin film 24 shown in FIG. 2 d is scattered onthe substrate and therefore is discontinuous.

Specifically, in the procedure of conventional furnace treatment,because there is sufficient reaction/treatment time, the goldtransformed from the precursor solution, influenced by the surfaceenergy at the interface between the transformed gold and the substrate,will form in a way of trying to decrease the interface area to exist ina most stable morphology, e.g. a particle or separated, discontinuousthin films as shown in FIG. 2 d. However, regarding the APPJ-treatmentembodiments, because the reaction/treatment time is very short, thetransformed gold will be in a non-equilibrium/metastable state so thatit can exist in a continuous film morphology as shown in FIGS. 2 a, 2 band 2 c. In addition, the flowing gas during the APPJ treatment maycontribute to the formation of the continuous film.

FIG. 3 shows the X-ray diffraction patterns of the gold thin filmsfabricated by the APPJ treatment for 7, 20 and 60 seconds. Based on FIG.3, it is known that the composition of the gold thin films fabricated bythe APPJ treatment is gold, and, within 60 seconds, the longer thetreating duration is, the better the crystallinity is.

In addition, the sheet resistances of the gold thin films fabricated bythe APPJ treatment for 7, 20 and 60 seconds are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Gold thin film Sheet resistance (Ω/□) APPJ-treated for 7 sec2.175 APPJ-treated for 20 sec 1.359 APPJ-treated for 60 sec 0.997

Based on Table 2, it can be seen that through the APPJ treatment for 7seconds, the gold thin film already have low sheet resistance. With theincrease of the APPJ-treating duration, the electrical property of thegold thin film is improved so that the sheet resistance of the gold thinfilm decreases. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2 and Table 2, thecontinuous gold thin film fabricated through treating the gold precursorsolution with APPJ can well cover the glass substrate and make theinsulating glass substrate to be a conductive substrate or an electrode.As regards the comparative gold thin film, because its sheet resistanceis too high to be measurable by the apparatus so that no sheetresistance value can be obtained.

In an embodiment, before the APPJ treatment, the substrate having thespin-coated gold precursor solution thereon undergoes a short soft bakeat 75° C. for 1 min.

The term “continuous” used to define the film in the present disclosurehas the same meaning as known in the related fields or, for example, atleast means that: the film is a complete one by visual observation or amicroscope, the film appears a reticular structure (as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2 b, where many pieces of thin film connect to each other) or anintegral film without a gap (as shown in FIG. 2 c) when observed by themicroscope, or the film covers on a substrate and causes an electriccurrent to be electrically conducted on the substrate.

In an embodiment, the working temperature can be set between 250° C. and750° C.

In an embodiment, HAuCl₄, H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃, Pd(C₅H₇O₂)₂,Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂, Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂, Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(CH₃COO)₂,Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃, Ni(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ and a combination thereof is used asa metal precursor and dissolved in an appropriate solvent, such aswater, chloroform, i-dioxane, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, p-xylene,o-xylene, bromobenzene, valeric acid, dimethyl sulfoxide, n-caproic acidor a combination thereof to form a metal precursor solution. The metalprecursor solution is then treated with the APPJ, and the central atom,such as Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Ru, Cu, Ni and Co, corresponding to the metalprecursor is therefore transformed into solid metal.

In an embodiment, a metal precursor having a metal central atom isdissolved in a solvent to form a metal precursor solution. Then themetal precursor solution is treated using the APPJ to be transformedinto solid metal formed by the metal central atom.

In an embodiment, plasma gas assorting with the APPJ includes but notlimited to nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, argon, helium and air. In anembodiment, species of power source used to drive the APPJ includes butnot limited to DC, AC, pulsed and RF. In an embodiment, species ofplasma used to treat the metal precursor solution includes but notlimited to plasma jet and dielectric barrier discharge plasma. The metalthin film fabricated through the APPJ treatment as disclosed in thepresent disclosure at least has one of continuous film morphology andparticle morphology.

In an embodiment, a system for fabricating metal from a metal precursorsolution is disclosed. The system includes a substrate, the metalprecursor solution distributed on the substrate, a supporting devicesupporting the substrate, and a plasma generator generating APPJ totreat the metal precursor solution to transform the metal precursorsolution into the metal. Specifically, when the substrate is aconductive one, the metal at least has one of continuous film morphologyand particle morphology, and when the substrate is an insulatingsubstrate, the metal preferably has continuous film morphology.

Embodiments

Embodiment 1 is a method for manufacturing an electrode, comprisingsteps of providing an insulating substrate; providing a metal precursorsolution containing a metal precursor dissolved therein; causing themetal precursor solution to distribute on the insulating substrate; andtreating the metal precursor solution distributed on the insulatingsubstrate by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to cause theinsulating substrate having thereon the metal precursor solution treatedwith the APPJ to form the electrode.

Embodiment 2 is a method as described in Embodiment 1, where the metalprecursor solution is treated with the APPJ to cause the metal precursorto transform into a metal disposed on the insulating substrate to causethe insulating substrate to form the electrode.

Embodiment 3 is a method as described in Embodiment 2, where the metalforms a thin film on the insulating substrate to cause the insulatingsubstrate to form the electrode.

Embodiment 4 is a method as described in Embodiment 3, where the thinfilm is continuous.

Embodiment 5 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 1 to 4,where the metal precursor solution has a solute and a solvent, and thesolute is the metal precursor, dissolves in the solvent and is oneselected from the group consisting of HAuCl₄, H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃,Pd(C₅H₇O₂)₂, Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂, Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂, Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂,Cu(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃, Ni(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ and a combinationthereof.

Embodiment 6 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 1 to 4,where the metal precursor solution has a solvent selected from the groupconsisting of water, chloroform, i-dioxane, toluene, methyl isobutylketone, p-xylene, o-xylene, bromobenzene, valeric acid, dimethylsulfoxide, n-caproic acid and a combination thereof, and a solute beingthe metal precursor and dissolved in the solvent.

Embodiment 7 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 1 to 6,where the APPJ is a nitrogen plasma jet.

Embodiment 8 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 1 to 7,where, from the moment that the insulating substrate temperature reachesa working temperature caused by the APPJ, the metal precursor solutiondistributed on the insulating substrate is further treated with the APPJfor no more than 2 minutes, preferably for no more than 1 minute, andmore preferably for no more than 40 seconds.

Embodiment 9 is a method for manufacturing an electrode, comprisingsteps of providing a substrate; providing a metal precursor solutioncontaining a metal precursor dissolved therein; causing the metalprecursor solution to distribute on the substrate; and treating themetal precursor solution distributed on the substrate with anatmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to cause the substrate havingthereon the metal precursor solution treated by the APPJ to form theelectrode.

Embodiment 10 is a method as described in Embodiment 9, where the metalprecursor solution is treated with the APPJ to cause the metal precursorto transform into a metal disposed on the substrate to cause thesubstrate to form the electrode.

Embodiment 11 is a method as described in one of Embodiments 9 and 10,where the substrate is a conductive substrate, and the metal has atleast one of a film form and a particle form.

Embodiment 12 is a method as described in one of Embodiments 9 and 10,where the substrate is an insulating substrate, and the metal has acontinuous film form.

Embodiment 13 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 9 to 12,where the metal precursor solution has a solute and a solvent, and thesolute is the metal precursor, dissolves in the solvent and is oneselected from the group consisting of HAuCl₄, H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃,Pd(C₅H₂O₂)₂, Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂, Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂, Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂,Cu(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃, Ni(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ and a combinationthereof.

Embodiment 14 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 9 to 12,where the metal precursor solution has a solvent selected from the groupconsisting of water, chloroform, i-dioxane, toluene, methyl isobutylketone, p-xylene, o-xylene, bromobenzene, valeric acid, dimethylsulfoxide, n-caproic acid and a combination thereof, and a solute beingthe metal precursor and dissolved in the solvent.

Embodiment 15 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 9 to 14,where the APPJ is a nitrogen plasma jet.

Embodiment 16 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 9 to 15,where, from the moment that the substrate temperature reaches a workingtemperature caused with the APPJ, the metal precursor solutiondistributed on the substrate is further treated with the APPJ for nomore than 2 minutes, preferably for no more than 1 minute, and morepreferably for no more than 40 seconds.

Embodiment 17 is a method for manufacturing a metal, comprising steps ofproviding a metal precursor solution containing a metal precursor; andtreating the metal precursor solution by an atmospheric pressure plasmajet (APPJ) to cause the metal precursor to transform into the metal.

Embodiment 18 is a method as described in Embodiment 17, where thesolution has a solute and a solvent, and the solute is the metalprecursor, dissolves in the solvent and is one selected from the groupconsisting of HAuCl₄, H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃, Pd(C₅H₇O₂)₂, Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂,Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂, Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃,Ni(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ and a combination thereof.

Embodiment 19 is a method as described in Embodiment 17, where thesolution has a solvent selected from the group consisting of water,chloroform, i-dioxane, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, p-xylene,o-xylene, bromobenzene, valeric acid, dimethyl sulfoxide, n-caproic acidand a combination thereof, and a solute being the metal precursor anddissolved in the solvent.

Embodiment 20 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 17 to 19,where the metal has at least one of a film form and a particle form.

Embodiment 21 is a method as described in Embodiment 20, where the filmform is a continuous film form.

Embodiment 22 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 17 to 21,where the APPJ is a nitrogen plasma jet.

Embodiment 23 is a method as described in any of Embodiments 17 to 22,where the metal precursor solution is treated with the APPJ for no morethan 2 minutes, preferably for no more than 1 minute, and morepreferably for no more than 40 seconds.

Based on the above, it can be seen that the present disclosure at leastprovides methods for fabricating a solid metal film from a simplyprepared metal precursor mixture, such as a solution, and theapplications thereof. As described in the above-mentioned embodiments,through the APPJ-treatment, the metal precursor solution can rapidly betransformed (reduced) into a continuous metal thin film and/or metalparticles at atmospheric environment, which solves problems thatlow-pressure environment is necessary for plasma treatment, time andpower are highly consumed in a furnace heating system, and the procedureto prepare a metal precursor (mixture) is complex of conventionaltechniques.

While this disclosure is described in terms of what is presentlyconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is tobe understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosedembodiments. Therefore, it is intended to cover various modificationsand similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of theappended claims, which are to be accorded with the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similarstructures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing an electrode,comprising steps of: providing an insulating substrate; providing ametal precursor solution containing a metal precursor dissolved therein;causing the metal precursor solution to distribute on the insulatingsubstrate; and treating the metal precursor solution distributed on theinsulating substrate with an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) toform the electrode.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein themetal precursor solution is treated with the APPJ, causing the metalprecursor to transform into a metal disposed on the insulating substrateto form the electrode.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein themetal forms a continuous film on the insulating substrate to form theelectrode.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a stepof from the moment that the insulating substrate temperature reaches aworking temperature caused by the APPJ, the metal precursor solutiondistributed on the insulating substrate is further treated by the APPJfor no more than 1 minute.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe metal precursor solution has a solute and a solvent, and the soluteis the metal precursor, dissolves in the solvent and is one selectedfrom the group consisting of HAuCl₄, H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃, Pd(C₅H₇O₂)₂,Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂, Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂, Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(CH₃COO)₂,Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃, Ni(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ and a combination thereof.
 6. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal precursor solution has asolvent selected from the group consisting of water, chloroform,i-dioxane, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, p-xylene, o-xylene,bromobenzene, valeric acid, dimethyl sulfoxide, n-caproic acid and acombination thereof, and a solute being the metal precursor anddissolved in the solvent.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe APPJ is a nitrogen plasma jet.
 8. A method for manufacturing anelectrode, comprising steps of: providing a substrate; providing a metalprecursor solution containing a metal precursor dissolved therein;causing the metal precursor solution to distribute on the substrate; andtreating the metal precursor solution on the substrate with anatmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to form the electrode.
 9. Themethod as claimed in claim 8, wherein the metal precursor solution istreated with the APPJ to cause the metal precursor to transform into ametal disposed on the substrate to form the electrode.
 10. The method asclaimed in claim 9, wherein when the substrate is electricallyconductive, the metal has at least one of a film form and a particleform, and when the substrate is electrically insulating, the metal formsa continuous film.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 9 furthercomprising a step of from the moment that the insulating substratetemperature reaches a working temperature caused by the APPJ, the metalprecursor solution distributing on the insulating substrate is furthertreated by the APPJ for no more than 2 minutes.
 12. The method asclaimed in claim 8, wherein the metal precursor solution has a soluteand a solvent, and the solute is the metal precursor, dissolves in thesolvent and is one selected from the group consisting of HAuCl₄,H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃, Pd(C₅H₇O₂)₂, Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂, Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂,Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃, Ni(NO₃)₂,Co(NO₃)₂ and a combination thereof.
 13. The method as claimed in claim8, wherein the metal precursor solution has a solvent selected from thegroup consisting of water, chloroform, i-dioxane, toluene, methylisobutyl ketone, p-xylene, o-xylene, bromobenzene, valeric acid,dimethyl sulfoxide, n-caproic acid and a combination thereof, and asolute being the metal precursor and dissolved in the solvent.
 14. Themethod as claimed in claim 8, wherein the APPJ is a nitrogen plasma jet.15. A method for manufacturing a metal, comprising steps of: providing ametal precursor solution containing a metal precursor; and treating themetal precursor solution with an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ)to cause the metal precursor to transform into the metal.
 16. The methodas claimed in claim 15, wherein the solution has a solute and a solvent,and the solute is the metal precursor, dissolves in the solvent and isone selected from the group consisting of HAuCl₄, H₂PtCl₆, PdCl₂, RuCl₃,Pd(C₅H₇O₂)₂, Cu(N₂H₃COO)₂, Pd(C₅H₈O₂)₂, Ru(C₅H₈O₂)₃, Pd(CH₃COO)₂,Cu(CH₃COO)₂, Cu(NO₃)₂, AgNO₃, Ni(NO₃)₂, Co(NO₃)₂ and a combinationthereof.
 17. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the solution hasa solvent being one selected from the group consisting of water,chloroform, i-dioxane, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, p-xylene,o-xylene, bromobenzene, valeric acid, dimethyl sulfoxide, n-caproic acidand a combination thereof, and a solute being the metal precursor anddissolved in the solvent.
 18. The method as claimed in claim 15, whereinthe metal has at least one of a continuous film form and a particleform.
 19. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the metal precursorsolution is treated by the APPJ for no more than 2 minutes.
 20. Themethod as claimed in claim 15, wherein the APPJ is a nitrogen plasmajet.